Five alive in cup win
Jonathan Mitchell • Published 21 Nov 2011 12:00
0 Comments
Morton 5, Deveronvale 1
MORTON cruised into the fourth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup with a comprehensive 5-1 demolition of Deveronvale on Saturday.
Allan Moore's men made easier work of their Highland League opponents than their Cappielow counterparts had when they eventually scraped a narrow 4-3 win eight years ago.
On this occasion, Ton proved they had far too much for Vale over the course of the 90 minutes as five different players got their name on the scoresheet even though the hosts were rarely forced to move out of first gear.
Despite the non-league opposition, there were still huge concerns for Moore as he saw his side decimated by injury.
Stuart McCaffrey, Ross Forsyth, Michael Tidser and Fouad Bachirou were forced to watch from the sidelines, while Marc Smyth was listed as a substitute strictly as an emergency measure.
But the real crisis came in the goalkeeping department, with Colin Stewart and Matthew McGinley also ruled out through injury, while Celtic loanee Dominic Cervi was ineligible.
As a result, current fourth-choice Alistair Deans had a potential loan move to Greenock Juniors cancelled and was given his first start for the club.
There was also a debut for 18-year-old left-back Thomas O'Ware, who was handed a starting berth despite having only recently signing for the under-19s.
Ton made a nervy start and almost fell behind after just seven minutes when Kris Duncan poked narrowly wide after outpacing Andy Graham.
But by the 10th minute, the hosts had settled and assumed control, with Grant Evans volleying a Darren McGeouch corner narrowly over the crossbar.
Referee Gary Hilland refused to award what looked a stonewall penalty when Peter MacDonald was bundled over by Leigh Henderson. The verdict was never likely to prove crucial, though, as the Cappielow side looked capable of scoring every time they tested the Highlanders' porous rearguard.
And the opener arrived in the 15th minute when Paul Di Giacomo and MacDonald combined to expose that disorganised Deveronvale defence. The former St Johnstone striker made an angled dart in behind to get on the end of the wide-man's quick throw before cutting back for David O'Brien to scoop home from eight yards.
Di Giacomo was becoming increasingly influential, and it was he who exploited the gap between the Vale centre-backs by slipping MacDonald in on goal with a neat pass. Ton's top scorer took the ball in his stride before expertly curling beyond Deveronvale goalkeeper James Blanchard to make it 2-0.
MacDonald did pass up a host of chances to add to his tally over the course of the match. In the 25th minute, McGeouch sent him clear with a perfectly-weighted slide-rule pass, but his low drive was tipped round the post.
Then, six minutes later, he headed a Di Giacomo cross from the left against the base of the post before slashing the rebound well wide.
He was then thwarted by Blanchard in the 38th minute when he hooked towards goal, but Andy Jackson was on hand to volley home the rebound to take his season's tally into double figures.
Ton were cutting through at will, and could have gone further ahead if Hilland had pointed to the spot rather than book O'Brien for a dive that only he saw, or if Di Giacomo's low strike from an O'Ware centre had not been kept out by Blanchard's outstretched foot.
But as it looked like the hosts would run up a cricket score, Deveronvale threw themselves a lifeline when Duncan cut back for Grant Noble to place a left-footed effort beyond Deans.
Although the next goal could prove crucial with the game poised at 3-1 going into the second half, Ton appeared entirely unfazed and immediately went about re-extending their lead.
MacDonald and then strike partner Jackson forced strong stops from Blanchard in the opening 15 minutes of the second period.
Deveronvale eventually found their feet, and Ross McKenzie forced Deans into action when he sent an effort arrowing towards goal from 25 yards, but the former Largs Academy pupil sprung to his right to expertly push wide.
Yet the scare proved to be little more than a one-off, as Ton immediately put the tie to bed with two goals in two minutes, both of which were scored by subs.
In the 72nd minute, Peter Weatherson placed under Blanchard to make it 4-1 after O'Brien worked a neat exchange with Archie Campbell before rolling the ball into the Englishman's path.
Di Giacomo then manufactured space on the left flank with some tidy footwork before releasing Campbell with an incisive through ball, and the fleet-footed forward raced clear and slotted home to complete the rout.
Both substitutes could have bagged braces in the closing stages, but they found Blanchard in inspired form. But by then Ton had already done more than enough to ensure they would be in the hat for Tuesday's fourth-round draw.
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 21 Nov 11
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.
